MIRACLE: A finger shows just how minuscule little Theo was as a newborn

“I had never ever seen a baby that small – I didn’t know babies could be that small”

Theo's Dad

He is believed to be the smallest newborn to survive in the UK since Aaliyah Hart, now 15, was born at 12oz in May 2003.

Katie said: “Before he was born, it was really hard hearing all the time that he wasn’t going to make it, and even when he was born that we might not get to take him home.

“But we got through it by saying, ‘no, he’s made it this far, let’s just support him’.

“We were so positive and kept saying that we would fight for him.”

Dad Jay added: “I had never ever seen a baby that small – I didn’t know babies could be that small.

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THRIVING: Little Theo has been released from hospital after an op to repair a hernia

“I kept saying to Katie that everything would be ok and he would be fine.

“But it wasn’t until I saw him that I realised how serious things were. I think that was the most scared I have ever been.”

The proud parents said the pregnancy was normal until the 19-week scan, which revealed he was smaller than expected and, later, that he had stopped growing.

They were told to “expect the worst” at almost every scan. Jay, a delivery driver, said: “They were all really good and helpful, but right up until the day before he was born, we were offered an abortion.”

TINY: Theo sits next to a can of coke which weighed the same size as him when he was a newborn

Jay and Katie only got to touch his hand for a few seconds before he was put on a breathing machine.

Medics warned he was so small he might not survive long enough to go home.

But seven weeks later Theo was moved to a lower dependency ward.

Jay said: “He was smaller than my hand and much smaller than they even thought he would be.

“But doctors said he didn’t have any of the usual complications premature babies have.

“The doctor said he was about the weight of a can of Coke, but even when I picked up a can, it felt heavier than Theo.

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SURVIVOR: Little Theo is now doing well at 22 weeks

“But he is proving everyone wrong. The doctors that first looked after him came in over the weeks to see him and could not believe how well he was doing.”

Theo was finally allowed home from Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne, on July 7, weighing 7lb 4oz, after an operation to repair a hernia.

He still relies on bouts of nasal oxygen but doctors are confident he won’t suffer any further complications. Support worker Katie, from Durham, added: “It’s weird to think he was the smallest baby ever as he is now so much bigger and doing so well.”

Theo’s family is raising money for Tiny Lives, a charity that helps care for premature babies and their families. The chances of survival for a 400g (just over 14oz) baby boy is around 25% and surviving without moderate to severe brain damage is around 7%.